Yes.. People… I have a problem. I am totally, completely, addicted to Korean Dramas.  I know,I know… what your thinking.. How can an intelligent, educated Black woman such as myself… be so crazy about Korean Dramas?

Well… It all started when I had a summer class with a group of High School girls. They kept talking about these dramas… How cute the men were .. How pretty the girls were… how they cried and laughed and just fell in love with every character.  I thought awww… isn’t that cute.   Their little obsession ..aww to be a teenager again.   I figured I needed to stay hip and on top of the latest fads.. being a teacher… so I had better watch one so I can identify with my teenage girl students….Then OMG…I was hooked.   Oh… they are like .. extended versions of our afterschool specials but with a little more humor and action.

What is so funny about these dramas.. is there is no sex, no open mouth kissing, no profanity, and no real violence; few people are murdered.  But …they keep you interested with the story line and the acting.. and yes they are very funny and the men are amazingly hot.   They all have subtitles so I need to read them . but… they are so good you forget you are reading…. and you start feeling for the characters.  Most are your … rich guy, poor girl.. fall in love… or rich guy fall in love with poor girl and parents don’t like… or popular boy falls in love with un-popular girl… etc.   But even though I am sure I know how they will end… I still must watch it all the way thru.

My excuse to my co-workers is that I am learning Korean…but I found that they are closet Korean Drama watchers too….the whole country is addicted. My husband laughs at me because I am so into these dramas that I can’t do anything but sit in front of the computer.. however, he did admit to me that he use to watch them in college…HA

So, for those of you not familiar with Korean drama and want to see what I am talking about.. I have a list of my favorite Korean Dramas that you should check out.  Oh… these are found on … either.. www.hulu.com or www.dramafever.com.   You must watch at least one.. you won’t be sorry.

1)Boys Over Flowers

The action takes place in the prestigious Shin Hwa high school in Seoul. Four boys, who comprise the group know as the Flower Four, are the crème de la crème, sons of the wealthiest and most powerful families from Korea. Spoiled, rebellious, flirtatious and mean, these boys are the poster children for the new image of sexiness in Asia, a group of boys who are in fact beautiful – more beautiful than flowers. The leader, Joon Pyo, is the heir to one of the largest Korean conglomerates. Ji Hoo is the grandson of a former Korean president. Yi Jung and Woo Bin complete the group.

Enter cute Jan Di, who works at a porridge restaurant and is daughter to a humble family which owns a dry cleaner. She is accepted into Shin Hwa on a swimming scholarship and has to deal with a world she has only seen from afar. From the start, she faces the scrutiny of the entire school, who consider her an outcast. The boys from F4, who are demigods in this school, take an instant dislike to her. But through her charm and undying optimism, she tries to slowly win the hearts of everyone around her. And of course, a few of the boys will fall for her. Boys from the F4.

2)Coffee Prince

This romantic comedy was quite provocative when it launched as it revolves around issues of homosexuality. Han Kyul (Gong Yoo), the handsome son of a wealthy hotelier family, is set in his bachelor lifestyle and does not believe in commitment. His family’s constant pressure for him to get married drives him to the point that he pays a young man to pretend to be his gay partner. Trouble starts when Han Kyul falls in love with this man (who is a girl really). There are other subplots which make this show rich and deep in character.

3) My lovely Sam-Soon

At 29, Kim Sam-Soon‘s career and love life has hit a dead-end. She is overweight, unmarried, saddled with an embarrassingly old-fashioned name, and has just lost her job. On Christmas Eve, she catches her boyfriend of three years cheating on her, and promptly breaks up with him. Something has got to give. Enter Hyun Jin-Heon (Hyun Bin), the arrogant 27-year old owner of a restaurant called Bon Appetit, who hires her to put her French-pastry-chef skills to work as the restaurant’s chief baker. Stubborn and opinionated, the two individuals rapidly go head to head, fighting over cooking styles and almost everything else under the sun, but in the midst of all the arguments and ingredients flying around, something warmer starts simmering. When Jin-Heon gets pressured by his family to get married and Sam-Soon needs 50 million won to redeem her mother’s house from debt, Jin-Heon decides to hire her to act as his girlfriend, and the two sign a dating contract. Things get complicated however when Jin-Heon’s ex-girlfriend returns from the U.S. with her sights set on getting him back, and when Sam-Soon’s ex-boyfriend and a new admirer appear in her life.

4) Your Beautiful

Orphan Go Mi Nyeo  is a nun-in-training with little awareness of what is happening in the world outside her church. Her twin brother, Go Mi Nam, is set to join the hottest band in Korea – A.N.Jell, led by the cool Hwang Tae Kyung . When an unfortunate accident puts Go Mi Nam out of commission for a month, the band’s manager begs Mi Nyeo to take his place – without the knowledge of the other band members. Though unwilling at first, Mi Nyeo realizes this is her chance to find their mother, who disappeared when they were born. As she tries to find her mother, she must also learn how to deal with emotions of love as she grows attached to the lonely Tae Kyung.

5) Dream High

A musical drama that was the brainchild between Korea’s top star Bae Yong Joon,  Kirin Arts High is famous for the molding of successful young idols in South Korea. Present day, Superstar K exists as one of the top global stars who came from Kirin. Taken back to where it all started, we follow six young students as they form friendships and face betrayal in order to achieve their goals and dreams. They all sing and dance into everyone’s hearts in the hope of becoming the one and only Superstar K.
6) Flower Boy Ramen Shop
The term “Flower Boy” is used to describe a young, handsome, baby-faced boy who makes everyone swoon for him at first sight. He might be rich too. Cha Chi Soo  is one such “flower boy,” and is an arrogant high school student who happens to be the son of the biggest food conglomerate in Korea. As his family owns his high school, he lords over his fellow classmates and teachers, making them respect him out of fear. However, he ends up working a local ramen shop, where only such “flower boys” are allowed to work. The shop is run by Yang Eun Bi, a feisty graduate student preparing for her civil service exam. Chi Soo and Eun Bi butt heads from the moment they meet. Meanwhile, he encounters a “genius chef” Choi Kang Hyuk  and crushes on his high school teacher (Kim Ye Won)
7)Lie to Me
Lie to Me’ is a story about Gong Ah Jung), a level 5 Ministry of Culture official, gets entangled in a web of lies when she mistakenly lies that she’s married to Hyun Ki Joon, a hotel manager from an affluent family. Their relationship is further complicated when Ki Joon’s ex-fiancee and a close friend of his brother’s, Oh Yoon Joo, reappears in his life.
8) Plan B
Rain makes his acting comeback in Korea through this drama as Ji Woo, a manipulative, charming, and witty playboy who is also the top private investigator in all of Asia. He is also wanted for murder, and is constantly on the run from Detective Do Soo. As Ji Woo tries to solve his best friend’s murder and figure out who framed him, the mysterious Jin Yi approaches him with a new case. However, she has other intentions, as her parents’ deaths are inextricably linked to Ji Woo. Her fiance Kai (played by X-Men: Wolverine’s Daniel Henney) supports her from a distance as she plunges into a deep underworld to find her parents’ killer. In addition, the reappearance of a vast amount of gold lost during the Korean War sets in motion the search for truth and revenge.
9) Hong Gil Dong
Hong Gil Dong  is a martial arts prodigy with a chip on his shoulder. As the illegitimate son of a high-ranking government official, he was cast out from a life of nobility. A local monk took him under his wing and trained Gil Dong in martial arts “ which Gil Dong first used to bully his townspeople, to using his skills to serve the poor and needy. He “wins” his wife Yi Nok in a street fight, and together they take on the injustices that divide the people into haves and have-nots in this modern-day folktale.
10) Playful Kiss
Playful Kiss is about a popular and genius male student named Baek Sueng-jo who has a stand-offish personality and Oh Hani who is a female student who makes up for being not-so-genius by always being smiling and happy. An earthquake destroys the girl’s home and she and her dad end up living with the boy’s family. The girl has kept this boy in her heart but she has never received any assurances of her love being reciprocated. Fun and groans ensue as they interact and rub off on each other.
These are just a few to get you started.  I promise you if you watch these you will be addicted to these dramas just like I am.  I feel I might have to seek some kind of help…. maybe some therapy.. or maybe just… I am sorry… I need to finish watching the latest one … until next time...FIGHTING!!! (you will get the joke if you watch the dramas)


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